I Love Food!

Well, let me rephrase that; I love authentic foods. What do I mean by that? Simple. I like the original, or real versions of food and not the "Americanized", or "Canadianized", or "North Americanized", or "Koreanized" , or "whatever-ized" versions of the foods in question.

Take Chinese for example. Most of the the Chinese food that you might be familiar with, if you live in North America, etc., is not the real/original thing unless you eat in a restaurant in a "Chinatown" that is frequented by the Chinese people living in that city.

Historically, when the first Chinese arrived, the ingredients to make the original versions did not exist in that part of the world. So, substitutions had to be made. That was 50-60 years ago. And, in addition, since the food had to be sold to non-Chinese people in order to make a living as a restaurant owner, it also had to be tailored to more North American tastes. Thus, North American versions of the food evolved which basically have not too much in common with the original versions. Most do not even have original versions. Things like "Chicken Balls", "Moo Goo Guy Pan", "Sweet and Sour Spare Ribs", "Chop Suey", etc. What the hell are these things? They are not real Chinese food! But, for the majority of non-Chinese people in North America, they are Chinese food. Sorry. But, this is not Chinese food.

With globalization in the past 20-30 years, and the widespread availability of original fresh ingredients, spices, sauces, etc. practically anywhere in the industrialized world, there really is no excuse not to be able to make and serve the real/original versions of ethnic foods. And, this does happen now. What a relief! Unfortunately, the changed foods are still being made and served because this is what most people are accustomed to now. Serve them the real thing and they do not like it. They are not used to it. And, unless they are open to new experiences, they won't like it either because it's not Chinese food! What a shame.

I use Chinese food as an example but this has happened with all ethnic foods in North America and beyond from Italian, Indian, Greek, Japanese, Vietnamese, Portuguese, Ethiopian, etc. And, what makes me such an "expert" in this? Simply because I have had both the original foods and the "whatever-ized" versions. There simply is no comparison. The originals are so much better tasting. Unfortunately, most people are only used to three distinct "flavors" in their food; too sweet, too sour and too salty. That's about it. Go to any North American chain restaurant and those are the predominant flavors in everything. Gross!

If you want to find the real thing, go to the ethnic areas of your city and look in the restaurant windows. If you find that the majority of the people sitting in them is of that ethnic area, then you can be assured the food is real. They are not stupid. They will only eat the real deal. Plus, the restaurant will not look very nice, not up to North American standards at all. If it's a fancy place, go somewhere else because it is catering to non-native tastes; read North American tastes. Plus, you will pay through your nose for food that is usually served for much less than what you have to pay in North American chain restaurants. Don't believe me? Well, you can have a decent meal at a real ethnic restaurant for less than one third of what you would pay for a complete steak dinner at a big name chain.

So, what is the point of my rant? Simple. Trying to find the real/original versions of ethnic foods in South Korea is very, very, difficult. Almost impossible depending on what part of South Korea you happen to live in. As Seoul is the most international and biggest city in South Korea, the chances of finding real ethnic foods is a bit, only a bit, higher. As there are quite a number food blogs here by people who love food as much as I do, researching their writings is easier than trying to do all my own research. To that end, I have ventured out and tried some of their recommendations. It's a slow process. But, I have tried some of them. I'll write about those experiences when they arise.

For the record, there are no, none, zero, zilch, nada, real/authentic Chinese food restaurants here! Only Koreanized versions and I do not like the food they serve. Period. Most Italian restaurants here fall into the same category so far. Yuck! Some of the other food bloggers have found the real deal, but they are difficult for me to get to easily. But, I will explore them eventually. For now, it'll be a slow go of it.